The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1887-08-03

pose is to destroy American civilization.
Doubtless there are some men in the
liquor business who are not in sympathy
with these red handed revolutionists but
they are small minority. While they
do not mean to give aid and comfort to
such an enemy, every intelligent man
sees as distinctly as he sees the sun in the
heavens, that the hopes of Socialism and
Nihilism are centered mainly in beer and
whiskey.
There is not one liquor dealer in five
hundred who respects the Sabbath. They
are almost without exception, enemies to
it, because it is an enemy to their bust
ness. They open their dirty dens upon
that sacred day whenever they dare to do
it. They know that community with.
out a Sabbath is practically a communi.
ty without Christianity, and that com.
munity without Christianity Is practically
a community without virtue, and a land
without religion and virtue is the base
ideal towards which they are all work.
ing.
On a question Of such momentous
importance I cannot, I dare not tempor.
ize. I will speak the truth, let the con.
sequences to myself be what they may.
Confronted by the facts which pres.
ent, I do not fear or hesitate to say that
this Government, in legalizing and
protecting the liquor traffic, is fostering
the deadliest enemy to American ideas,
Institutions and liberty. 1t is simply
nursing into power its own destroyer.
Igo further. With full sense of my
responsibility to you and to Almighty
God l deliberately and emphatically at.
firm that every American citizen who
casts his ballot for the continuation of
this curse, whether he means it or not, is
simply voting for the overthrow of relig-
ion, home, virtue, and good government
upon American soil.
Irepeat, and challenge contradiction,
that every bar.room in this broad land
means devilish conspiracy against our
Christian civilization, and every friend
to the bar. room and distillery is practi-
cally supporter of that devilish conspir-
acy.
Now, when you consider that there are
100000 of these dens Of deviltry in our
country-one to every 240 inhabitants
against $4,000 houses of worship, or one
to every $50 inhabitants, you will have
some conception of the mischief which is
being done in generating sentiment at
war with Christian ideas and practices.
| I am sure that no true American can
contemplate, without fear and trembling,
the magnitude Of this liquor power, I
have said that there are in this country
100000 saloons. Allowing twenty feet
front to each, they would reach in an
unbroken line from Augusta to Poston.
What picture for the lovers of ,irtue,
home and country to behold Has it
ever entered into the mind of man, the
amount of infdelity, lying, fraud, filth
and deviltry represented by these 100000
gateways to hell? Suppose some part Of
this globe were fenced off, and all of these
vile dens and their keepers were put into
it; is there decent man under Gods sun
who would live among them? No; it
would be worse than living among un-
tutored Hotteptots and Kafirs. To find
more horrible place than that would be,
man would have to cross over the boun-
Diary of time and explore the rayless
regions of the damned.
No thoughtful man can doubt that we
shall have all over this great country
condition of things approximating that
picture if our people permit this goddess
whiskey power to accomplish its devilish
/ schemes.
In one of Daniel Webster's immortal
speeches, be said: "God grant that when
my eyes turn to behold for the last time
the sun in heaven, may not see it shin
ing upon the broken fragments of
dismenbered Union" My friends, I can
think of sadder sight for the dying
patriot than that This glorious Repub-
lie overthrown, and divided into twenty
separate and distinct nationalities, would
be pleasing spectical for the eye of the
expiring statesman, in comparison with
IN undivided country, ruled, corrupted,
debased and damned by the despotism of
whiskey.
The North American Review says that
the capital invested in the liquor traffic
in the United States amounts to one
billion of dollars. Joseph Cook claims
that it is vastly more than that. He
says that Boston alone has SIS, 900, 900 in
the business. But think of even one
billion of dollars in the hands of such
men as are engaged In that iniquitous
vocation. What menace to the coun.
try's morals, to the country's homes and
to the country's liberties. A billion dol
lers to make drunkards, paupers and
criminals A billion dollars to corrupt
the ballot anu bribe jurors. judges and
legislators. Think of it, patriots; think
of it, Christians
Does anybody doubt that these men use
their money for such purposes, when
they do not themselves deny it or make
any concealment of the fact.
At the Brewers Congress, held in Buf.
falo, July 9th, 1868, President Clausep,
speaking of the action of the New York
Branch of the Association, relative to the
excise law of the State, said "Neither
means nor money we're spared during the
last twelve months to accomplish the re-.
peal of the detested law. Editorials,
fo,or,h1o 70 ba ,anoo ypnra y,uh1tuh o6 IN